Method and process for acquiring and delivering electric vehicle owner-operator preference data which is used to schedule and regulate the charging of multiple electric vehicle batteries within a shared local power distribution network

Abstract

As the density of Electric Vehicle deployments in residential neighborhoods increase, demand on local power grids may exceed the local utility power supply causing local brown outs or transformer failure. The invention describes a method and process which enables the acquisition and efficient RF transmission of data that enables utility customers, utilities and/or other controlling entities to collaboratively regulate the timing and rate of Electric Vehicle battery charging in a manner that avoids peak-load related transformer failures.

The invention claimed is: 
     
       1. A system for coordinating electric vehicle charging events, the system comprising:
 a computing system for each of a plurality of electric vehicles, the computing system comprising a first processor configured to
 transmit, to a remote server via a wireless communication link, vehicle charging data for the respective electric vehicle, wherein the vehicle charging data includes at least one of a unique identification code for the respective electric vehicle, a current battery charge level, charging time preferences, and a next time of use for the electric vehicle, 
 receive, from the remote server via the wireless communication link, a charge control signal for a charging station of a plurality of charging stations, wherein the charging station is electrically connected to the respective electric vehicle, and 
 initiate, responsive to receiving the charge control signal from the remote server, a charging event between the respective electric vehicle and the charging station; and 
 
 the remote server for coordinating charging events between the plurality of electric vehicles and the plurality of charging stations, wherein the remote server comprises a second processor configured to
 receive, from the computing system of the respective electric vehicle via the wireless connection link, the vehicle charging data for the respective electric vehicle, 
 receive, from a second remote server of a power supply entity, power network characteristics of at least one transformer providing power to the plurality of charging stations, 
 determine, based in part on the vehicle charging data and the power network characteristics, a charging schedule for the plurality of electric vehicles, wherein the charging schedule is load balanced between a portion of the plurality of charging stations, and 
 transmit, to the computing system of the respective electric vehicle, the charge control signal for the charging event between the respective electric vehicle and the charging station, wherein the charge control signal is based on the charging schedule for the plurality of electric vehicles.